Hello everyone! It’s Katie, Jennifer and Mike’s assistant. This month’s blog post is all about coffee, something near and dear to every Seattleite’s heart. Before I moved to Seattle, I was a barista for two years in a local coffee shop. Therefore, I have some knowledge of the coffee world and my own coffee preference. So with this opportunity to live in a city built on coffee, I decided to explore two very different Starbucks’ with my best friend Mallory. The two places we visited were the Starbucks on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower and the newish Starbucks Roastery and Tasting Room in Capital Hill.

The Columbia Tower is the tallest skyscraper in downtown Seattle and they have an Observatory on the 73rd floor, which costs about $15. But, the elevator ride to the Starbucks on the 40th floor is free! Obviously the views are not as great, but it’s free and Mallory and I are both financially conscious. So we grabbed an elevator and rode it to the 40th floor where we found a pretty typical looking Starbucks. The views were alright, but blocked by some nearby buildings and the weather was overcast so we couldn’t see very far. So, Mallory took some pictures and we headed on our way. However, this might be a good place for a cheap date on a nice afternoon.

Next, we grabbed a bus to Capitol Hill to visit the Starbucks Roastery and Tasting Room. This place is massive! According to an article I found, it is a 15,600 square foot property that is rumored to have cost $20 million to build. Starbucks has taken their love for coffee and created a once in a lifetime experience. As soon as I walked in I was in awe of the design and layout of the Roastery. There is copper everywhere! Starbucks even went so far as to design their own espresso bars. Espresso bars are extremely expensive in the first place, so you can tell how much thought they put into the environment of the roastery. There are multiple areas where you can order coffee and a large gift shop. Mallory and I began by talking with the barista we met at the door and he suggested we go to the Experience Bar in the lower level of the building. Once at the Experience Bar, we ordered a flight of three different types of Starbucks coffees and a smoked butterscotch latte. (That was probably too much coffee, but I’d like to think that’s not possible.) The coffee flight was cool because there was a very distinct difference between all the coffee’s we chose. It was interesting to taste them at the same time. The latte was good, but not something I would order again. It wasn’t overly flavorful and if I order a latte with butterscotch flavor I want to taste the butterscotch.

The best part about the roastery is that it is so different from every other Starbucks. You can tell from your first step in the door that a lot of time, money and research went into building this facility. This is a specific, behind the scenes look at the high end product that Starbucks can create. It is not your typical Starbucks on every single street corner, selling the exact same thing to impatient customers. The details are my favorite part, besides the coffee of course!